Neon Haze
by katiesparks
Summary: She didn't know what was going on and she wasn't even sure that she was going to the right place, but looking down at the child in her arms, she decided that she really could care less. She only wanted him to be safe. An Aoko fic
1. Chapter 1

_**Katiesparks owns NONE of these characters except Kiyoshi, who can be easily be borrowed with permission.**_

**Neon Haze**

**---**

The rain splattered against her front as she ran, the small blanketed bundle in her arms clutched close to her chest. Hurried, she rounded a corner at a pace that would have frightened most people. She bent over in the small alcove made by the balconies of two cheap hotel rooms and the narrow walls of the alleyway. Deciding she was safe for the moment, the young woman loosened her hold on the child, who looked to be a little boy, no more than three years old with wild hair, enough to look at his face, which was lost to the world of innocent slumber.

"Kiyoshi..." Twenty-five year old Kuroba Aoko breathed out, looking down at her son. The rain chose this moment to grow louder and her head flew up in the manner of a skittish cat, her dark mane of hair swishing as her head darted back and forth, looking for danger.

Carefully she picked the bundle back up and waited a moment, silently wishing for the rain to ease up just a little.

The movement shook the toddler from sleep and his big blue eyes opened a crack to peer at his mother hazily. "Kaachan?"

"Shh. Not now, Yoshi-chan. Go back to sleep, Kaachan's going to take care of you." She said and the child nodded before nuzzling his head into her chest and drifting off again.

The rain let up for a moment and she chose that second to dart back out into the streets. Finally she found her way to her goal, Beika. Hurried, she looked for her sanctuary and spotted it with minimal searching, the tall house standing out, proudly displaying its kanji for all to see. 221 Beika Street, Kudo.

As she ran up the walk and hesitantly knocked on the door, she couldn't help but remember what had brought her here...

_---_

_**"b-RING"** the phone screamed and Aoko dove for it, praying it hadn't woken Kiyoshi up (she had just put him down for his nap and if he woke up he would NEVER go back to sleep). _

"_Hello?" she answered, slightly breathless._

"_Aoko, take Kiyoshi and get out of the house __**now**__." Answered Kaito from the other end of the line, sounding about as frantic as she had ever heard him._

"_Wha-? Kaito, what are you-" Aoko started only to be cut off._

"_**Now**__Aoko! Go someplace safe! You know where to go right? I can't tell you where over the phone but-You know right? I'll find you there?" he asked and Aoko could feel the fear gripping his heart and it frightened her._

"_Y-yeah. I got it. I know where to go. Kaito..?"_

"_Good," the relief was evident in his voice. "And Aoko? I love you. I love you both so much. I-I've got to go. I'll see you soon, okay?"_

"_Kaito, wait! Don't you __**dare**__ hang up-!" the dial tone cut her off and she growled angrily, thrusting the receiver down none too gently. _

_Still, she looked around apprehensively before grabbing up several items, including her cell pone and her First Aid kit, just in case. Then she crept into her son's room and lifted him up, bundling him (and his most treasured bunny, Tsuki) in his blanket, taking care that his head was covered as well. _

_Aoko took one last look around, tempted to just stay despite her husband's warning. But she shook off the urge as fast as it came; above all else, Aoko trusted her husband._

_And with that thought in mind, she darted into the rain-slick streets with the neon haze of Tokyo swimming around her._

_---_

"Hello?" the intercom buzzed and Aoko thanked Whoever was watching over her that it was Ran who answered instead of Kudo-kun. She would deal with his questions once she and her baby were dry and warm, and not before.

"R-Ran-chan, it's me, Aoko. Something's happened; I think I'm supposed to come here." She rasped out, her throat raw from running in the rain soaked streets.

"Aoko-chan! What-? Never mind, I'll be right there. Conan-kun, get the door!" the intercom buzzed and the door opened several seconds later, revealing the wide-eyed inquisitiveness that was Kudo Conan, age five and a quarter thank-you-very-much.

"Aoko-baachan?" he questioned as she removed her and jacket, as well as her son's blanket (though, even sleeping, he would not release his hold on the slightly damp Tsuki. After several attempts to ease it from his grasp, Aoko gave up and let him be.)

"Hello, Conan-chan, how's school?" she inquired softly in her patented Quiet-He's-Sleeping voice.

The young boy made a face. "Boring! No one even knows how to _**read**_ yet!"

Aoko laughed softly, no doubt her own child would be the same, even at three years old, it was easy to tell he was brilliant. Already, he was borrowing some of Conan's beginner books and struggling through the pages with the difficulty level of someone twice his age.

"Don't even get him started on the horrors of arts-and-crafts time." Ran said rounding the corner before gasping at her friend's wet and muddy appearance. "Aoko-chan! What happened to you!??!"

"Something's happening, Ran-chan, and I just don't know what's going on! But I think I'm supposed to come here. If there's somewhere else he wanted me to go he should have been clearer." Aoko said and clutched her son closer to her chest.

"Aoko-chan, go upstairs and change into some of my clothes. And while you're at it, go into Conan's room and grab one of Conan's T-shirts and a pair of sweatpants and change Kiyoshi-chan too. Then you can come back down here and we can all talk for a little bit while Conan-chan and Yoshi-chan play, because I have no doubt he'll at least wake up while you're changing him. Don't worry, everything will be okay." Ran said, taking control in the manner of someone who reigns over her abode with an iron will.

Aoko just gave a little half smile and allowed herself to be helped to her feet. Maybe she didn't know what was happening. Maybe she should have been more afraid. Maybe she wasn't even in the right place. But she was among friends, friends that were going to help her.

And that was enough.

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_**Okay! That is it! I'm done with it, I'm DONE WITH IT! This is the end unless I get some sort of MAJOR biting plunnies of DOOM after me, this is where this one leaves off. If someone would like to run with it then be my guest, just ask me before using Kiyoshi, he's mine. I don't know what happened to make Kaito tell her to run (though the muses suggest it had something to do with Snake and Kaitou Kid and such. I don't really know. What, you thought I was in control here?), and I don't know why she would run to the Kudos'. Fill in the blanks yourselves... I'm serious! I'm not doing anymore of this! I'm not! ...Really.**_

_Kirby: She's lying, I bet she updates within a week._

_**I will NOT! So DON'T put this on you're alert list because it ISN'T getting anymore chapters!**_

_Kirby: Yes it is! I would know, I'm your muse!_

_**Don't listen to her, she insane! It's NOT getting anymore.**_

_**...Really. I mean it. It's not.**_

_**Really.**_


	2. Important Notice if you wanted more

** Since I did have several people put this on alert, even though I specifically said not to, I have decided to continue this...sort of. It's kind of like I made an AU of this story, Kiyoshi and Aoko and Conan are still in it, but timelines and things of that nature are mixed around a little bit. One thing is that Conan is nine years older than Kiyoshi. And there are a lot more characters, including Conan's younger sister (Aiko) and Hattori's three kids (in order, Chidori, Takuya, and Midori) as well as several other characters. It is very, **_**very**_** long. (It's at about 20,000 words, currently, and I've still got a couple more parts to write before it's over.) But, be warned, this story is dark. It may start off light, but there is character death, there is blood and revenge, and things that go **_**'bump'**_** in the night. It is **_**not **_**for children, okay? It is rated T for a reason. (It's almost gory enough to qualify as an M. Especially because of Hana and Shinako, oops, I just gave something away. SPOILERS! laugh) I sincerely hope all of you that read this story will check it out. It will be posted under the name Snapshots and, for those of you who know what this means due to the story I wrote as a trail run for this format, it is in Snapshots Format. Thank you all so much for your time and I hope to see all of you there!**

** Ja!**

** -katiesparks**

KIRBY: See? I told you it would be continued!

** Just shut up, Kirby, just shut up.**


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